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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. ball — a great time
  5. track — to keep track
  6. race — a contest
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. snap — to click
  13. ball — a dance
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. race — humankind
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. spell — magic
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. track — a path
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com